Keep Me Safe Through The Night
by The Notorious Cat
Summary: Oneshot..NS. Though the nightmares started long ago, whenever another pops up they've always been there for one another. When a particularly bad nightmare strikes Sara, there's only one person she'll turn to.


_Her hands and feet were tied harshly against the post, and she gagged again. Dry heaves shook her body as she shivered._

_Naked._

_He hovered over her; she could feel him hard and pulsating as he poised himself, ready to take her…_

Sara screamed as she sat straight up, waking with a start. Sweat slipped down her face as she gulped breath after breath of warm air. She clenched the blankets into tight balls and attempted to slow her breathing and her heart rate.

The nightmare had struck again. All she needed to do lately was close her eyes and there he was. Ever since she, Nick, and Warrick had worked that case…

The Breanne Gusting case was one of the worst cases to strike LV CSI so far that year, and that was saying something. Between the rape, the brutal beatings and the slow, torturous murder, chills had been sent down the spine of any employee who had contributed to the case.

Sara had been having horrible, disturbing nightmares ever since the case closed.

That was two weeks ago.

Sara was broken from her thoughts as the door to her bedroom slowly opened. The form of a man appeared as a shadow and she screamed.

"Sara!"

She stopped screaming. She knew that voice.

"Nicky…." She breathed a sigh of relief. Nick walked through the doorway to her room, took one and a half seconds to analyze her state as he crossed the room, and wordlessly enveloped her in a hug. She smiled into his neck as she hugged him tight, breathing in his scent slightly selfishly.

"Sara…darlin'…another one?" he rubbed her back in slow circles as her breath caught every now and then. She nodded slowly, and he kissed the top of her head. Ever since his abduction, he and Sara had become each other's support system. She had taken care of him and been his shoulder when he would wake up with nightmares from the grave, and still was, though he had them less often. Now, when she had nightmares, he was more then happy to return the favor.

"It was…it was a pretty bad one." Sara's muffled voice broke the silence. She took a deep breath, telling Nick the next part would be tough, but she new he would understand. After his abduction, they had shared everything with each other. She had told him of her childhood, how her mother killed her father, and the abuse that had been inflicted upon her by her father, including the sexual abuse. He told her about the sexual abuse he had endured as a child, week after week for months, and about what it had been like in his own personal hell – the glass coffin.

"He was going to…to…I could feel him down there, pressed against my leg…he was going to…rape me and beat me like he did to those other girls." Sara said quietly, and Nick helped Sara scoot onto his lap as he hugged her tighter.

"He can't hurt you now Sara, he's locked up….I'm here…" he whispered, and Sara just nodded again. He held her for a long while, just sitting with her as she mentally tried to repair the damage done to her by a simple dream.

Sitting there with Sara in his arms, comforting her these past few days, and the knowledge she had of his past had evoked feelings deep within him that Nick didn't think he could ever feel for any human being ever again. As she snuggled closer and began to calm down, Nick could feel his heart leap. She only shared these things with him; Nick was the only one she could be vulnerable around.

And Sara was the only one he could be vulnerable around.

The feelings he had towards Sara were to date unexplored. He had been so preoccupied trying to forget and move past the nightmares, even the daymares, that plagued him in the aftermath of being abducted that the consideration of a romantic relationship was quite simply ridiculous. But now…now that he had had time to think over his feelings, he was slowly coming to the realization that he was in love with Sara.

Eventually, Sara took her head off Nick's shoulder. He smiled gently at her, and combed her hair back from her face. He cupped her cheek and wiped away the tears and sweat, something he hadn't done before, but something that certainly wasn't unwelcome.

"Better?" he asked, his hands still fully cupping her face, and she sniffled.

"A little."

Nick smiled widely as his thumb decided to caress her cheek. She put her hand on one of his that cupped her face and squeezed it.

"Stay with me a while?" she asked.

"Of course."

It was their habit to stay awake for a little while after the nightmare in case whoever had the nightmare needed to say their thoughts out loud and know someone was listening. So Nick propped some pillows against the headboard and he and Sara sat next to one another in the dim light.

Sara smiled as she felt Nick's hip rub up against hers as he shifter positions every so often. Fifteen minutes of contented silence passed as each was lost in their own thoughts, and Sara let her head fall onto Nick's shoulder. He kissed the top of her head before leaning his head on hers.

"Wanna watch some TV Sar?" Nick asked. This was normal too; sometimes they would turn on the television, sometimes get something to eat, they'd even read to each other once or twice.

"Yeah." She mumbled sleepily, and Nick chuckled. He reached to the bedside table for the remote and flipped to History Channel. Something with a voice that droned and no cute or gory pictures were the criteria; basically, turning on the television was just for a constant background noise to help them both fall back asleep.

Nick thought Sara had done just that, fallen asleep on his shoulder until he felt her reach across his lap for his hand. He breathed deeply and his eyebrows both up as she came much to close to an area that friends never even think about. But she either didn't notice or disguised her smile well, because she just took his hand and sighed in pleasure when he squeezed it gently and began to rub circles on the back.

"Mmm…." Sara sighed softly, and Nick knew she was falling asleep again.

"Ready to go back to bed?" he whispered in her ear, and her eyes shot open.

"No!" She insisted, suddenly squeezing his hand quite forcefully.

"Ok! Alright…" Nick said calmly, and she settled, "but how about you lay down?"

Sara thought for a moment before responding.

"You'll stay?"

"Yep."

She still looked uncertain, so Nick looked around for a small throw pillow, and upon finding one, placed it in his lap. He motioned towards it, and Sara smiled gratefully.

"Are you sure?" she asked, still smiling.

"Yeah, it's fine darlin'." Nick replied. Sara smiled genuinely at him, and before he could truly process what she was doing, she lent up and gave him a kiss on his cheek. A long kiss that was followed by two small pecks. Then, without a word, she snuggled down into the pillow on this lap, laying perpendicular to him.

Nick, still half in shock over what had just happened, stared down at her as she closed her eyes and willed sleep to come. Without giving himself time to think, he slowly ran a hand through her hair. It was silky and warm as he brushed stray pieces away from her face. Her lips curled into a contented smile as he continued to run his fingers through her hair long after he had cleared her face from strays.

And when she finally fell asleep, Nick began to wonder, his hands still occasionally brushing through her hair, if she was smiling because she was dreaming of him.


End file.
